MOSCOW -- Russian officials on Friday denied they were behind the eavesdropping and Internet posting of an embarrassing phone call between two top U.S. diplomats discussing a response to the political crisis in conflicted Ukraine. But Russia's state-controlled media gleefully played up the scandalous conversation all day in a clear effort to cast Washington as a meddler in Kiev's domestic affairs. The clandestinely taped conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt caught the envoys candidly “strategizing” on how to effect a political turnover in Kiev, said Russia Today television as it played and replayed the conversation.

CAIRO -- Egypt's army on Thursday denied that Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Sisi had told a Kuwaiti newspaper that he was running for president, saying any declaration of his candidacy would be made directly and unequivocally to “the great Egyptian people.” Nonetheless, the story appeared to fit with a drawn-out unveiling of Sisi's intentions, characterized by ever stronger hints. The field marshal, who led the coup that deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi more than seven months ago, would have to relinquish his post as defense minister before formally stating he would run, and a Cabinet reshuffle is thought to be imminent.

The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., says it was pure intimidation by Gov. Chris Christie's top people, delivered in softly-worded asides at public events: Get on board with a big development deal or say goodbye to hopes of Superstorm Sandy relief money. "'This project is really important to the governor,'" Mayor Dawn Zimmer said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, recounting what she said she was told in May by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. "And she said that ... this was a direct message from the governor.

Aristotle placed spectacle near the bottom of his list of tragedy's essentials, and anyone who ventures to see "An Iliad" at the Broad Stage will agree that special effects aren't needed to bring to the stage Homer's deathless epic in all its agonizing, heroic glory. The set is largely bare, save for some scattered props and backstage equipment that never let us forget we are in a theater. The cast consists of one actor, Denis O'Hare. Little did we know from his Tony-winning turn as the gay baseball fanatic in Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out" that he harbors legions of legendary Greeks, Trojans and immortal deities within himself.

Two mothers pleaded not guilty Monday to charges they vandalized a classroom at a Mojave Desert school after losing a battle to keep it from being transformed into a charter campus under the controversial parent trigger law. Lori Yuan and Chrissy Guzman were parent leaders against the effort to convert the low-performing Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto to a charter last fall in the state's first successful use of the 2010 parent trigger...

Denis O'Hare's campaign to write and perform a solo play based on "The Iliad" has now lasted almost as long as the Trojan War itself. He began writing "An Iliad" in 2005 with his director and co-author, Lisa Peterson. Now they're bringing their 100-minute distillation of Homer's 24-chapter poem about the epic ancient struggle to L.A. for the first time, starting Jan. 15 at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. O'Hare will make his L.A. stage debut after more than 25 years of acclaim on Chicago and New York City stages, including a 2003 Tony Award playing a baseball-besotted accountant in Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out. " PHOTOS: Best of theater 2013 "The Iliad," set in the ninth year of the 10-year siege of Troy, begins with the Greek fighting machine Achilles feeling fed up for his own egotistical reasons.

How do you give a lifetime achievement award to a director still very much in motion, to an artist who refuses to settle down, to someone who actively does not want one? Woody Allen is in the midst of a run of box-office successes and critical acclaim. His current film, "Blue Jasmine," has firmly implanted itself into this year's awards-season conversation. Having turned 78 years old last month, Allen seems as busy as ever. Which is only part of the reason Allen will not be accepting his Cecil B. DeMille Award in person at the Golden Globes this weekend.

Denis Leary, who starred in FX's critically acclaimed "Rescue Me," is returning to the network with a new comedy pilot, "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. " Leary also wrote the pilot, which is produced by FX Productions and Fox Television Studios. It will mark his first TV venture since "Rescue Me" ended after a seven-season run in 2011. WINTER TV PREVIEW: Full coverage of the season's shows "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll" revolves around "Johnny Rock" (Leary), a middle-aged rock 'n' roller who desperately wanted to be rich and famous.

A Los Angeles judge heard arguments Friday over her tentative ruling this week denying Katherine Jackson's request for a new trial against entertainment giant AEG Live in the death of her son, Michael Jackson. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos took the case under submission following the morning hearing, which came three months after jurors decided AEG was not responsible for Jackson's death. Palazuelos issued her tentative 44-page ruling Thursday. When the judge makes her final decision, the parties will have 30 days to file an appeal.

Airline delays and cancellations have dropped significantly in the last few years. At least that's what federal statistics show. But the numbers may not be telling us the whole story. That is one of the conclusions in a new report by the office of inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which recommends new ways of calculating airline delays. The Department of Transportation's data show that airline delays fell 33% from 2000 to 2012, while flight cancellations dropped 56% at the nation's largest airports.